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Pregnant with her third child, Rana DiOrio took a break from her
finance career in 2008. Next thing she knew, she'd written two
children's books--one that explores the concept of being global
and another about the importance of being green. "I don't sit
still very well," she says. "Most investment bankers don't."

DiOrio wanted a publisher who would print the books in an
environmentally friendly fashion, befitting their topics. "People
laughed at me," she says. "'You're going to tell the publisher to
use soy ink? Good luck with that one!'"

When no such publisher emerged, she was surprised but undaunted.
She'd advised entrepreneurs on starting businesses while working
at Merrill Lynch, Deutsche Bank and a mergers-and-acquisitions
boutique. She knew an opportunity when she saw it.

Three years later, DiOrio's Little Pickle Press projects $550,000
in revenue for 2012 and $1.5 million for 2013. It has published
seven books and has five more on the way. "I came into an
industry that was tired and 20th-century, and brought to it
finance and technology," she says. "Those were two entire domains
that were being overlooked in publishing."

It isn't often perceived that way, but Wall Street can be a
steppingstone to entrepreneurship. Nicole Sierra-Rolet built a
business-within-a-business in Latin American equities while at
Merrill starting in the late 1990s. Her résumé includes stints at
Chemical Bank Institutional Investor and an international think
tank, and her husband is CEO of the London Stock Exchange.

So what was she doing in France's Rhône Valley the past three
years, helping replant disused vineyards and reconstruct a 9th
century priory? Like DiOrio, she saw an opportunity. Inns in the
French countryside and the wines they produced were insular
categories. By researching how similar properties had positioned
themselves on several continents, she has created a pair of
thriving businesses.

"In international finance, I became accustomed to looking at
peers all over the world," Sierra-Rolet says. "The best practices
were picked up and imitated. That mindset is very helpful when
you undertake a smaller business in a niche area. My reference
points weren't just what my neighbors were doing; they were
global."

Now her Chêne Bleu wines are in prestigious restaurants like
London's Nobu and New York's Ai Fiori, and La Verrière, her
luxury country retreat in southern France, is a prime site for
upscale corporate retreats and weddings. The fact that success
came without a name like Merrill Lynch attached makes it sweeter.
"When you start something from scratch, without the name of a big
corporation behind you, everyone assumes that you're irrelevant,
or doomed to fail, or that you'll just give up," she says.
"Succeeding is incredibly rewarding."

Though he didn't create a new business, Steve Preiss understands.
Preiss sold financial instruments for Nomura and Bank of America
for nearly a quarter-century. When he saw that world changing
around him in 2008, he got out. His wife had started Mightypets,
an online company that sold pet-care products. When Preiss
brought his Wall Street mindset to the distribution side,
business took off. Sales for 2012 are projected at $5 million.

"Some people think we're taking on risk by warehousing a lot of
product, but I don't view that as risk," says the former bond
trader. "I've learned that if you buy a commodity at the right
price, the fact that you own five of them or 1,000 of them
doesn't matter." And in a business that typically seeks to
maximize profit margin, Preiss is far more concerned with income.
"If I have an item that costs $10 and I make 50 percent, that's
$5," he says. "I'd much rather buy something that costs $500 and
make 10 percent."

Preiss likes that he has helped build a business, rather than
just making his quarterly sales targets. "On Wall Street, you're
looking for the next transaction," he says. "The world I'm in now
has a better mentality. I'm thinking longer-term and building a
brand."

Preiss has declined opportunities to return to finance. "Wall
Street was great for what it was, but I don't want to be there
anymore. There's nothing left to accomplish except make money. In
fact," he says, "there was never anything to accomplish except
make money. This is different." --B.S.